


smoke gets in your eyes

by soupmetaphors



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Angst, First Meetings, M/M, Pre-Canon, War Era, non-canon backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 05:45:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17238509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soupmetaphors/pseuds/soupmetaphors
Summary: The first time Rue and Vex met isn't exactly the story everyone knows. [ Written for the Skulduggery Pleasant Fic Exchange/ Secret Santa 2K18 ]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shewhowritestoomuch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewhowritestoomuch/gifts).



> i hope you enjoyed this fic! i had to make up saracen's backstory to fit the plot, and also, i don't know jack about ireland (i'm so sorry) but adare is a real place! and emer is the name of a figure from irish mythology! also, the title is taken from a song by the platters uwu

It’s taken them two weeks to track the spy, carefully slid into their ranks like a knife through the ribs, holding up the charade just long enough to disappear with enough intel to help Mevolent’s forces plan a strike that will decimate a substantial amount of their ranks.

It’s taken them a week to watch the camp from afar, marking the movements of the troops, the couriers leaving in the night, the spies slipping into the shadows. Every single step taken is clockwork, precise. Like them, these are killers. Like them, these are men who believe they are in the right, that the other side must be dealt with at all costs.

And now, Dexter Vex is watching one man undo all of their carefully laid preparations.

He recognizes the perpetrator, has seen him on plenty of their missions before. Saracen Rue is an enigma. Cheerful, sharp-witted, and with the penchant to bed anything that moved, he hadn’t struck Vex as the type of man to throw caution to the wind and go against orders.

Yet there he is, creeping down the hill, towards the flickering flames that illuminated the borders of the enemy camp below.

Vex casts a glance over his shoulder, towards their own makeshift camp. The tents are silent, as if abandoned, but he knows his comrades are asleep in their cot, relying on him to take watch over their target until the next shift. He wants to call out, but the words stick to the back of his throat.

A hand falls on his shoulder, heavy and warm, and Vex freezes, instinctively.

“Wait,” comes a low murmur, Shudder’s breath tickling his ear.

His comrade squats next to him in the grass, and they watch Rue’s slow descent, his careful movements.

Vex signals to Shudder with his hands, using the handspeak they’ve developed for missions which require nothing but stealth and a sharp blade. “He’s going to get us all killed.”

Shudder’s dark eyes flick from him to Rue’s shape, getting smaller and further away with each passing second. “He knows what he’s doing.”

 _How?_ Vex has heard whispers of Rue’s powers, scraps of gossip snatched from the wind. How he _knows_ things, how he’s the last of his kind, how he might be a spy himself— Rumors Vex dismisses as nothing but flights of fancy.

_How can one man know so much?_

It’s impossible. Magic may come in disciplines Vex hasn’t even seen in action, let alone _heard_ of, but no one can be that lucky or true about things.

“They’re going to have his hide for this,” Vex signals. “If we aren’t all dead by sunrise.”

Shudder simply jerks his chin towards the spectacle unfolding before them.

Rue has reached the bottom of the hill, meters from the camp boundary. He crouches in the tall grass, and Vex can just make out the top of his head. The lights in the camp spill onto the grass, yet Rue seems to evade every ray, weaving through the grass, snake-like and silent.

Even the sentries posted around the walls do not notice him, staring out into the darkness, one hand constantly on their weapons, a cry of alarm ready on their lips.

It’s mesmerizing to watch, the way Rue flits from shadow to shadow, circling the camp until he finds a weak link, an unguarded area. Vex watches with bated breath as he slips seamlessly into the sprawl of tents, vanishing from sight.

There is a beat or two where he is sure the alarm will be raised, but the camp remains as it is, orderly and neat.

Exhaling quietly, Vex looks over at Shudder, who nods with grim satisfaction.

“Did you— You put him up to this, didn’t you?”

The sudden accusation seems like it doesn’t phase Shudder. Yet Vex notices the abrupt clench in his jaw, relaxing slightly when he murmurs his response.

“What he’s doing isn’t part of our orders, Dexter.”

 “You’re telling me you only follow orders?”

They size each other up. He’s fought almost every person in camp, be it for a bet or for the primal pleasure of a good fight, but never Shudder.

(He remembers the first time he sees the Gist, streaming out of the older man’s chest, a broken reflection, a demon with a familiar face—)

Shudder raises his fist. Vex braces himself, either for the first blow or another slew of handspeak—

And a cry of alarm goes up from the valley below.

The tension snaps. Both of them jerk around to see flames rising from the camp, figures running in the dark, hear the faint bark of a commander snapping out orders.

Vex glances back at their camp, still and quiet.

And then he’s moving towards the edge of the hill, legs finding purchase in the odd rock, using his hands to help propel himself downwards, towards the commotion.

He sees Shudder above him as he climbs, following his path down. As they descend, the shouts become louder, the smell of smoke wrapping itself around Vex, pouring into his nostrils, his throat.

The tents are burning all around them as they creep towards the camp, heat from the flames causing rivulets of sweat to run down Vex’s neck, disappearing into the collar of his shirt.

“Meritorious sent you, didn’t he, boy?” A harsh voice cuts through the noise, and Vex’s heart sinks.

He doesn’t know Rue enough. He can’t tell if he’ll squeal, he can’t tell if he’ll die like a man on his feet, he can’t tell if any of this is just an overly complicated charade to draw him and Shudder in, to take out two birds with one, traitorous stone.

Glancing over at Shudder, he sees the other signal him to a gap in the camp, the same one Rue slipped through only mere moments ago.

They squeeze between the tents, fire having eaten away most of the fabric, flames having spread towards the opposite side of the camp. On the ground, charred bodies lie sprawled, the faint scent of cooking meat making Vex simultaneously hungry and sickened to the core.

They duck and weave through the ruined skeletons of tents, making their way towards the center of the camp. He sees a jet of water shoot through the air, and then several, and guesses they’ve put their Elementals to wrangle the fire.

It takes them several more seconds before they find the center of the camp, hidden in the shadows of the ruined tents to observe the tableau before them.

Rue is on his knees, soot streaking his face, blood leaking from his nose. Behind him, two of Mevolent’s loyal dogs stand at attention, their swords drawn, muscles tense.

Shudder nudges him, nods towards the shorter of the two, and Vex recognizes him as the spy they’d accepted so readily into their ranks.

The camp’s commander stands in front of Rue, a tall man with grey hair cut close to his scalp. A quick check reveals perhaps about a dozen surviving soldiers behind him, watching their leader deal with the intruder.

Not a very clever idea, Vex thinks, distantly. Not clever at all.

“I can take them out,” he signals Shudder. “Sneak round from behind. You grab the spy and his friend, and then we’ll deal with the leader.”

Shudder nods. Out of the corner of his eye, Vex sees the commander unsheathe his sword, slipping the tip under Rue’s chin and lifting his head.

“It seems Meritorious needs better assassins,” he hears the man say, as he sneaks round the other side of the tents, what little canvas left hiding him from sight as he draws closer towards the crowd. “Where are your bedfellows, boy? Hiding in the darkness, waiting your signal?”

“It’s just me.” Rue’s voice is cracked, hoarse. “I don’t give a fuck about Meritorious, or this war. This is personal.”

“Of course it is.” The man’s voice hardens. “Now, don’t play coy with me, boy. Where are your friends? You can’t have come here alone, I know.”

“You know nothing, you bastard—” There’s a _crack!,_ Rue’s voice dissolving into a scream as Vex reaches where the survivors are, their backs open and towards him, just a few meters away, unknowing.

He crouches among the tall grass, the night air cool against his sticky skin. Through a gap in their legs, he can see Rue on the ground, clutching his leg. A silver of bone protrudes from his skin, like a sword in a stone.

“I _said_ ,” the commander hisses. “Don’t play coy with me. Tell me where your comrades are.”

Rue gasps for breath. His body twitches, involuntarily.

“I came here alone, I swear,” he says. “This is for Adare.”

“Adare—” The commander’s words cut off. There’s a pause, and a new, gentler tone enters his voice. “Ah, Adare. I’m surprised anyone survived the battle.”

 _No one did_ , Vex thinks. He remembers the news of the Battle of Adare arriving in camp, of how Mevolent’s troops killed every last soldier they had standing, beneath the full moon. He remembers the horror in his eyes reflected on the faces of everyone present in camp.

“I didn’t say I was a survivor.” Rue’s face twists. For a moment, Dexter thinks he can see tears shining in his eyes.

The commander laughs. “I think I see where this is going.”

As Vex watches, Rue looks directly at where he is, although it’s impossible for him to know that he’s even there. Something in his voice changes, replacing raw emotion with the deadly calm of a hunter.

“No,” the Adept says, and Vex realizes this is a cue. “No, you don’t.”

There’s a scream as Shudder leaps into view, Gist bursting from his chest, sharpened talons finding its victims immediately. Before anyone can move, Vex springs up from the grass, firing beams of energy from his palms, cutting down the survivors of Rue’s initial attack.

It is over within minutes.

Vex hardly processes the terrified screams, the arc of blood through the air, the clang of metal hitting the ground, before the camp is silent.

He sands there, shoulders heaving, hands balled into fists, surrounded by the dead.

Across from him, Shudder is already kneeling by Rue, inspecting his damaged leg. The commander lies on the ground several feet away, victim of the Gist. Yet he’s still breathing— A fact that Rue, too, notices.

As Vex approaches, the Adept pushes Shudder’s arms away, clawing at the ground to pull himself towards the dying man with one hand, the other fumbling with the knife in his belt.

“This is for Adare,” Rue spits at the dying man. “And this is for Emer.”

The glint of the knife beneath the moonlight. The initial gasp as Rue brings it across the man’s neck. The gurgled rattling of his last few breaths.

Vex and Shudder look at each other, then at Rue, still gazing upon the corpse.

“I’ve got the intel,” Rue says, without looking at them. “Let’s go.”

A million questions run through Vex’s mind. He swallows a thousand, flattens the rest beneath the concern of getting Rue back up to camp, and nods.

“Come on.” He motions to Shudder. “Help me with his legs.”

Together, they carry Rue between them, leaving the smoldering remains of the camp behind.


	2. Chapter 2

Shudder concocts the story to keep suspicious inquiries off their backs: That Rue tripped and rolled down the hill, trying to piss in the middle of the night. That he saved Rue from being ripped to shreds by a camp full of murderous mages.

Vex is grateful for the absence of his presence. He wants no part in this narrative, the hiss of blood and roar of fire.

Already, the others are warming up to Rue, having proven himself by getting the intel back and helping Shudder destroy the camp and the spy. There is camaraderie forming around them, one which Vex can foresee thickening into a bond that cannot be broken.

(Yet he catches Rue watching him across the fire at night. He is awoken to take over the night’s watch by calloused fingers brushing his shoulders, lingering just a moment too long on his bare skin.

It is not unwelcome. Out here, there is no one who hasn’t slept with one another with camp, yet Rue has never slipped between his sheets, or, at least, not yet.)

But there are still questions he has about that night, questions that keep him awake at night, send him pacing around camp in an attempt to lull himself to sleep.

It’s almost fate that he finds Rue during one of his sleepless nights, sitting at the edge of camp, behind the tents.

Vex seats himself beside him, silently. Their shoulders are almost touching, and Vex is close enough to see the rise and fall of his chest, each breath almost a struggle.

“You should be resting,” he says, quietly. “Your leg—”

Rue shrugs. “It’ll heal. There are worse things in this life than a bone sticking out of your leg. Just look at Skulduggery.”

Everyone’s conversations somehow always circle back to Pleasant. It’s a fact Vex has long since realized, but it’s hard not to be awed by a talking, walking skeleton who can do magic.

But this isn’t about Pleasant. This is about them, about the camp, about Vex getting a good night’s sleep for once in his life.

“I know things,” Rue says, before Vex can speak. “That’s what everyone says I do, don’t they? _Know_ things.”

He turns to Vex. In the moonlight, his smile is bitter, and his eyes gleam with wild light. “I couldn’t have known Mevolent’s forces had surrounded Adare. Nor that, by the time help arrived, all they would find were the dead and dying.”

“I know things, Dexter. But not all of them.”

 _Adare is a reminder of why we cannot fail_ , he remembers Meritorious announcing.

That beautiful town, with its monasteries housing mages hidden from mortals in plain sight, the first bastion in case of an attack from Mevolent’s forces, wiped out in a single night, mercilessly.

He remembers visiting when he was a boy, being awed by the sheer beauty of the town. He remembers his heart breaking for all those lost.

“I’ve been looking for the men who served at Adare in every mission,” Rue continues. “The commander at the camp we infiltrated led the charge at the battle. Under Mevolent’s orders, he crushed every last mage living there.”

“The Sensitives cleaned up the mess, and the mortals. They didn’t remember a thing, even if you could see the magic lighting up the sky for miles.”

Vex reaches out, finds Rue’s hand, and squeezes. He waits for the other man to continue talking, to finish this grisly tale.

“My sister was one of the leaders in Adare. Her name— Her name was Emer.”

Rue squeezes back. His hands are rough, and Vex can feel him tremble. A slew of emotions runs across his face, each more emotional than the last.

“I should’ve gone back.” Rue chokes on his words, gaze fixed on the horizon. “I should’ve asked her to come with me, instead of taking care of that stupid town—”

He looks at Vex, desperation clear in those tear-filled eyes of his. “But how could I have known?”

If it’s a question for him, Vex has no answer. He can only squeeze Rue’s hand harder, free arm wrapping around him as the Adept begins to weep, forehead pressed against Vex’s shoulder.

He wants to tell Rue it’s over. That his sister has been brought to justice. That it will be alright.

But the war still rages. But as long as Mevolent and his Generals live, it will never be over.

He wants to lie, but lying to liars and killers never works.

So he pulls Rue closer. He will hold him until the weeping stops, until he can draw breath without sobbing, until his hands no longer tremble.

He will hold him as long as needed.


	3. Chapter 3

“That’s how you met?” Valkyrie asks, as they sit around the campfire. “Seriously?”

Shudder nods. “Saracen tripped and rolled down into camp, alerting everyone, and I had to save him.”

“I was rolling _aggressively_ ,” Rue says, folding his arms.

Valkyrie laughs, and when her attention slides back towards Shudder, Vex finds Rue’s hand in his.

They share a look, and Vex can almost feel himself back on that hill, Rue in his arms, the moonlight shining down on them.

(Soon, his world will be shattered. Soon, everything he knows will be a flaming ruin, his own personal Battle of Adare.)

Unaware, he squeezes Rue’s hand, content.

Somewhere above, the moon shines through the clouds.


End file.
